AUSTIN — Texas lawmakers gaveled their regular session to a close Monday and were promptly summoned by Gov. Rick Perry to get back to work in a special session focusing on the state's election maps.

In contrast to a year that was largely characterized by an air of “Kumbaya,” the Senate on Monday bristled when it turned to the politically thorny redistricting issue. House members, already scattered, planned to convene Tuesday.

In a statement announcing the special session, Perry praised the Legislature for its work to put in place a $2 billion plan for water infrastructure, cut business taxes and create a new mega university in South Texas.

“However, there is still work to be done on behalf of the citizens of Texas,” he said.

Perry placed only redistricting before lawmakers initially, but he was peppered with requests to add a list of conservative issues and could do so. Only Perry can call lawmakers into special session, and he sets the agenda.

“I expect the governor to add more topics to the call” as lawmakers make progress on redistricting, which is the subject of a Thursday hearing by a special Senate committee, said Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. He has asked Perry to add issues including anti-abortion and pro-gun measures to the agenda.

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Perry specifically assigned lawmakers the task of making permanent a set of interim redistricting maps drawn by a three-judge panel in San Antonio.

Led by Attorney General Greg Abbott, Texas Republicans are eager to cement those maps into state law to present them to the federal court in San Antonio as a legislative product. The court in San Antonio is scheduled to hold its first hearing in a year on Wednesday in a trial that will ultimately decide the final design of the state's voting maps.

Sen. Kirk Watson of Austin, who heads the Senate Democratic Caucus, grilled Dewhurst over a decision to abandon in the special session the regular-session practice of requiring a two-thirds vote of senators to bring up a bill.

The practice gives power to Democrats, who lack a majority but can block legislation if the two-thirds threshold is required.

Watson, whose exchange with Dewhurst was viewed as potential court fodder, noted Democrats' representation of Hispanic and African American voters.

Uresti said he doesn't think the Legislature should ratify the maps because they “do not represent adequately the minority population in Texas.”

“Democratic senators, the 12 of us, represent the majority of the minorities in Texas, and so we just need to be sure that every person is represented — one man, one vote has to apply,” Uresti said.

Though redistricting is the immediate focus of the special session, Perry can still tack on issues at will. He also can call repeated sessions.

Already, lawmakers have stacked a list of requests for Perry to consider — from Republicans' anti-abortion measures to a resolution pushed by Democrats calling on the Legislature to support federal immigration reform efforts. Some in the House on Monday called for Perry to revive a bill that authorizes state bonds for more than $4 billion in construction at 58 colleges and universities.

Lawmakers are hoping to avoid a drawn-out special session, even while advocating their priorities.

Rep. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio, said he is planning to ask Perry to include in a special session his bill giving local police and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission more authority to regulate strip clubs with a bring-your-own-booze policy.

“I hope it's a clean, tight session that gets done what we need to get done,” he said.